The Perfect Plot
by existence555
Summary: Since Fred and George are starting school soon, Molly and Arthur try to talk to their most mischievous sons about getting serious. As usual, the twins have other ideas.


**A/N: I wrote this for the Sibling Relationship Competition, and of course the siblings that I got were Fred and George! Hope you like it and review! :) **

Sitting across from their parents, the twins shift uncomfortably.

"Mum, this is weird," Fred complains.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd think we were in trouble," George adds.

"But we're in trouble enough that we know what you're like when we're in trouble," Fred points out.

The twins narrow their eyes suspiciously, and Molly simply clasps her hands together and smiles.

"Boys, let your mother talk," Arthur says.

"We were waiting for her to talk!" George protests. "But she didn't say anything!"

"Is this about us starting school?" Fred asks.

"You scared that we'll burn down Hogwarts or something?" George inquires.

"Boys!" Molly exclaims. "Will you stop talking for one second?!"

Fred and George shrug simultaneously.

"She seems stressed," George remarks.

"Perhaps some nice tea—" Fred begins.

"Boys!" Molly repeats, cutting off Fred's suggestion. "Listen."

This time, the twins actually fall silent.

"This _is_ about you starting school," Molly tells them. "Your older brothers have all done very well. Your father and I know that you can do the same, but you don't always… What's the word, Arthur?"

Her husband shrugs, and Fred and George see it as an opportunity to be helpful.

"Apply ourselves?" they suggest.

"Exactly!" Arthur agrees. "Well put. You two like to spend your time on all sorts of, well, shenanigans. But look at all that your brothers have done. They've made us all proud, and we know that you two can make us just as proud, if not prouder!"

Fred frowns.

"So you want us to be exactly like them?" he asks.

"That's not it at all!" Molly replies. "It's just that they've done well in school, and it's a good idea to follow their example."

"So the only way to do well is to be all stuck up like Percy?" George retorts. "Mum, come on."

"Don't talk about your brother like that," Molly sighs. "He's a fine boy, and you know it. We just want you two to be serious about school."

"I just want Percy to be less of a prat," Fred says, mockingly putting on the same tone as his mother.

"Like that's going to happen," George laughs.

Molly and Arthur exchange looks of concern.

"You two could do so much with your lives," Molly tells them. "You are both creative and smart and so talented, and we love you. But you need to put in the necessary effort. You understand, don't you?"

The twins look at each other and roll their eyes.

"Are you done yet?" George asks.

"George and I have things to talk about," Fred says.

Molly and Arthur give them skeptical looks, but the twins are not fazed.

"You're not the only ones who can discuss important matters," George points out.

"Good chat, right?" Fred asks, as he stands up.

Since his parents don't know what to say, George replies for them as he also gets up to leave.

"I think so, Fred," he says. "Very interesting stuff."

Molly and Arthur look at each other and sigh as the boys leave.

"Think we got through to them?" Molly asks.

Arthur smiles and puts an arm around his wife.

"They'll be just fine," he assures her. "They're smart boys."

Molly puts her head on his shoulder and sighs again.

Meanwhile, Fred and George have made their way up to their shared room.

"Well, that wasn't good," Fred remarks.

"Not at all," George agrees. "What was that all about?"

"They think we're not going to do any work," Fred replies.

"Well, are we?" George asks.

The twins look at each other for a long moment.

"Are we?" George repeats.

"Well, we ought to," Fred answers matter-of-factly.

"Doesn't sound fun," George points out.

"No," Fred agrees, shaking his head.

"But we should," George says.

"Yes," Fred sighs.

They are quiet as they contemplate the problem at hand.

"School should be fun," Fred declares.

"School isn't supposed to be fun!" George protests.

"But we can make it fun," Fred suggests, with a grin.

"But we should do our work," George sighs.

"But it can't be fun if we're doing our work!" Fred frowns.

He thinks that they have reached a contradiction that will be impossible to overcome, but George comes to the rescue.

"Other people might not think so," George says slyly. "But no matter how much Mum wants us to follow Bill's and Charlie's and Percy's example, we've always done things our own way."

Fred looks at his brother thoughtfully.

"So we do our work, but we have fun," Fred says. "This is revolutionary, George."

"It is," George agrees. "But that's the problem. People won't think we're fun if we do work. And if people don't think we're fun, they won't want to have fun with us, and then we'll be like Percy, no fun at all."

"Then we'll have to do work in secret," Fred proposes. "And have fun publicly. But that's going to take a lot of effort. Is it really worth it? What if school turns out to be useless?"

"We just work hard in school until we find something more useful!" George exclaims. "Once we figure out what's more useful, we can just focus on the fun! It's brilliant, Fred. Completely brilliant!"

"But nobody can know," Fred warns. "This is just us."

"Just us," George promises.

They look at each other, delighted with their plan already.

"This is going to be an adventure!" Fred says gleefully.

"Not like one of Dad's, hopefully," George replies.

He shudders, thinking of the time that Arthur decided to take the whole family on a surprise vacation, promising that it would be a grand adventure. His idea of an exciting vacation, however, consisted of a one week, magic free stay at a Muggle hotel. Arthur, of course, had the time of his life. The rest of them weren't too happy, but Molly had threatened them into suffering silently.

"No," Fred laughs, snapping George out of his unpleasant memory. "Definitely not like that."

"Well, Fred, are you ready for a proper adventure?" George smiles.

"_We_," Fred corrects him. "We're in this together, George. Are _we_ ready?"

They look at each other, and grins instantly spread across both of their faces.

"We're ready," the twins agree simultaneously.


End file.
